Who would have predicted a run on toilet rolls?
Quite. Who would've predicted the outcome of the referendum? The December general election?
I don't anything about mathematical modelling but it seems to be used by people who, whenever the outcome in practice differs from what was expected in theory, say 'no one could have predicted…'
Despite Margaret Thatcher giving political credence to the concept of individual self-responsibility, the masses still look to government to provide the answers and for advice on what to do. This coronavirus is new, the scientists don't know so are learning as they go. Instead of saying they don't know, they base their advice on modelling.
It is said that human beings are social animals/creatures but I think that's nonsense. I think we are wild animals. Being sociable is a result of centuries of subjugation. I think our wildness has been tamed to the extent that whenever it does emerge (or shine through) it is squashed unless how it manifests itself meets with majority approval. Of course, it is necessary to be sociable to live in harmony with our fellow man / woman which is why we have laws, guidelines and codes of conduct to instil fear of what would happen if we do not comply, but our ability to be sociable does not mean we have to give up on being wild and free.
Through science, in keeping with the unnatural world we have created for ourselves on planet Earth, we have tamed many diseases and viruses so it is hardly surprising that when something as powerful and unknown as this particular coronavirus comes our way that we should band together and want to defend ourselves. But whether the best defence is to go along with the official line or (as necessary summon up the courage to at least) think for ourselves in case what we think might prove to be more correct than what we are told is not something surely that we should fear doing.
In my opinion, this is a task for mental stamina: it is no place for emotion. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I agree with Dr David Nabarro of WHO who, on BBC R4 Any Questions said, (words to the effect), that individuals should pay heed to the official line but decide for themselves what risk to take.
It is evident that people have decided what risks they are willing to take, never mind the impact on the economy, or sectors of it. What is called 'panic-buying' but which is actually forward planning may not suit the supermarkets - who despite being purveyors of fast moving consumer goods evidently have a different definition of 'fast moving' to the rest of us - but who cares. The answer is those that do care also think that everyone else should also care, we are all in this together.
I interpret the official line to be that most people should experience the virus so as to boost immunity generally in future; which is tantamount to saying we should sacrifice our own health for the common good.
I used to care even when others did not, but I gave up. Caring is an exhausting function, as any carer for a family member would confirm. But there's a difference between caring for a loved one and being expected to care because caring for one another is what community means and communities do.
We live in a rural area in a market town, it's a small town whose population nowadays is majority incomers. Coping with small town mentality is challenging enough without having to accommodate incomers' emotional baggage. Having done my bit for the town and thanked, I have moved on. (We are also planning to physically move but COVID19 has got in the way, another few months of postponement.)
Mrs BnC (under 70) and myself (70.5) have discussed and agreed what to do. I am healthy, Mrs Bnc is prone to ailment. We are not main-stream, we do not consider our life-style typical of elderlies. We live as if in our own bubble. I think it important to be aware of what is happening in the outside world, to show interest in other people's realities, but not involved, not emotionally caught up in every superficial detail of the lives of strangers. The only persons whose health is relevant to us is mine and Mrs Bnc's. We don't go out together often, rarely to crowd events. Mrs Bnc goes out on her own only very occasionally. I don't go out every day (except to the wheelie bins) but when I am out, on business, or for thrice weekly exercise or shopping or massage, I shall carry on as normal but less accommodating.
For example, yesterday, in an exercise class, I spoke briefly with someone who told me they'd been in quarantine, not from having tested positive themselves but because the company they work for had insisted for all its employees. In the past, I would've ignored the remote risk but yesterday not only did I keep well away from the person but also went one stage further and cut short my attendance in the class. Later, shopping in Waitrose, I am normally silently considerate to dawdlers blocking the aisle and wait patiently, but yesterday I turned my trolley around and exit then entered the same aisle from the other direction.
We have decided to stop wasting each other's time imparting the latest news of the virus unfolding. It was news to Mrs Bnc to learn that, for my work and journal/time-line, I am keeping a record of unfolding. I hope i have managed to get Mrs Bnc to stop speculating from the headlines - the media fed by hysterical social media is fond of spreading rubbish - and wait for the facts to be announced on whether it really is not going out for 4 months.
I cannot of course speak for those of us for whom working from home is not a novelty but for myself I know that the 9-5 approach bears no relationship to how I like to work. Unless one's way of working tallies with one's way of living, to bring a 9-5 mentality into one's domestic lifestyle is asking for trouble. Generally, how people like to live is, in my view, more a reflection of their wildness than is the outside world which is a reflection of society's expectation around behaviour and conduct. A lack of congruence causes conflict as it is. The challenge I suggest for those of us who through no fault of our own are not allowed out is not to let it get to us.
